I know this is late, but if I were to redo this project I'd do everything on a Raspberry Pi running Processing. Wire up the micro switches to GPIO pins and output directly to the TV. Would be so much easier to do.

Thanks for the write-up. Lots of good info here. I'v e never heard of Liquid Electrical Tape, but it's perfect for my current project.

For power, you'll need a driver with enough watts to power them all. Power per meter depends on type of LED, brightness needs, and # of LEDs per meter. Then multiply that by 30 and get the next most powerful driver.

Oh I see. You'd extend the parts that sick out to move the arm to be the connectors. Good idea.I wouldn't want to print that as one piece, though. A much longer print, support to clean up, and you're locked in for spacing.Would be better to just print the discs and use dowel or metal tubing for the connectors. You wouldn't even need a 3D printer.I'd be concerned about wobble and dealing with that, but could be worth looking into.

The book is great, but can be hard to figure out since they're not moving. Check out http://507movements.com/ or people who have animated them on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE3fVry-jlw&list=PL53FtkQI04_-n38S3xK87HTpGzX7Ktwpl

Thanks! I didn't even show the best part of the printer which was all of the prototypes I made. Love being able to print, test, tweak, and print again.

It's a lot easier. Also, what I've found is that the footage you think will be amazing is often just confusing. Lots of quick turns don't make much sense without your own body getting moved around as well.Better to add context to stuff that has slower turns or hills. I barely had any room to work with with this track which was only 10' long or so. But crashes are always fun and I fit that in with only about half that track.As for a rollercoaster you could probably do that with a double rail system and concave plastic wheels.

I know that video and it was made with 5MadMovieMakers. He switched over to a 3D-printed car later, think that one was still a modified Hot Wheels car.

It can handle it, but loop footage isn't as exciting as you'd think. You just see the track rise up for a few frames since the regular loops are pretty small and fast. To get a bigger effect the loop would need to be at least a couple feet in diameter. Even then you're just seeing track.If I was to go after that I'd like to make a large set of two loops side by side. Then run the camera on one track to shoot a car on the other.

I did! I can see the value in it, but I wasn't happy with the results I was getting. Would be open to revisiting it, though.

Given the resolution of the model and my own printer's capabilities, being able to represent the denser population centers is pretty great. Unless you reproduce this map with much higher resolution, skip the blurring, and then print it out HUGE, preferably in color, it's going to be very difficult to be accurate enough to give that sense you're asking about. Probably the best bet is to do it virtually with a 3D model you can move around.

Also, thanks for reminding me. I've now linked the spreadsheet and repo so it's easier to try it out on your own.

This is cool and useful. For stuff like this you should look into software that is parametric. Fusion 360 is really good here. Or, if you're more into the programming side, OpenSCAD. Then all you need to to is change a few variables for a new connector. You can even put it on thingiverse so anyone can make their own custom piece in a few seconds.

The size of the wheel doesn't matter. It's all about the profile of the rim. You could make a small variety of pieces that can fit different types of rims. Mostly just change the angle.I'd prefer to find some new solution that could fit all rims, but without making this in some flexible material I'm not sure how that would work.

My favorite uses for 3D printers are custom connectors and enclosures. I find printing out figurines to be pretty boring.But my kids love that, so I still do it sometimes :)

thank you!

It's true. White in front and red in back are the common rules for riding on the street. I made this as a test and don't recommend use with the full colors near vehicles. Can switch to traffic friendly white and red settings with brightness turned down while near cars and go full color when cruising away from cars.I've also seen that strobes are not to be used at night. I see that being ignored all the time. As a driver, that has scared me more than I think this would.

These strips are already coming from China. These cost ~$60 for 4 sets, shipped. If you're looking, be sure to get a strip that's 2m long.I haven't ridden with these in the rain and wouldn't recommend it. The LEDs are waterproof, but the rest isn't. I've had a set of these short when a little rain fell on a Halloween costume with them on the outside.There might be another way. Up to you!I did consider weaving them, but the same problem happens there. The strip doesn't turn to the side and the effect would be a wobbly circle. Keeping the strip facing inwards for a circle doesn't direct the light out at drivers and creates a more uniform look.

Yes! Sometimes a bit too much. Looking down a little while riding can mess up your night vision.

The cost of the lights keep changing. Right now, it's $76 for four strips, but you could definitely make do with one strip per wheel and spend $38 instead.For the batteries, Amazon has some cheap AAs where it'll be $6 or less for the dozen.So you could have a good effect for $44. Of course, I didn't mention the 3D printer. If you can get access to one, the cost of materials is super low, probably a couple dollars in filament.